Ryan Blackwell, 42, has been named 11th president of Lifeway Christian Resources, the publishing house of the Southern Baptist Convention.
He currently serves as executive pastor and teaching pastor at Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., an SBC megachurch previously led by Ronnie Floyd, who at one time was president of the SBC and then later president of the SBC Executive Committee.
Ryan Blackwell
As executive pastor at the church formerly known as First Baptist Springdale since 2020, Blackwell has worked with Senior Pastor Nick Floyd. He has provided leadership development, strategic planning and organizational alignment as the church and expanded to a fourth campus. Previously, he served as senior pastor at First Baptist Church of San Francisco for nearly a decade, from 2010 to 2019.
Blackwell grew up at Cross Church and previously served as its pastor for young adults. He also has served in various ministry roles at churches in California, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
He earned a bachelor of arts degree in religion from Oklahoma Baptist University in 2006, followed by a master of divinity degree and doctor of ministry degree from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (now Gateway Seminary).
Blackwell was elected to the new post by Lifeway trustees April 22. He follows Ben Mandrell, who resigned in July 2025 to become pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn. The Lifeway news release published by Baptist Press does not mention Mandrell, who on the way out the door accused trustees of not allowing his wife to have an appropriate job at the agency he led.
Once a publishing behemoth, Lifeway has struggled with lagging sales as consumer demands for books and curriculum has shifted The organization has downsized its office space twice in recent years, and many of its employees now work remotely.
Still, Lifeway is a $300-million-a-year enterprise that receives no funding from the SBC Cooperative Program.
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